# Which tools from the book still exist two years on, and what replaced the others?

Date: 2025-04-24 · Author: Robert Scales · https://guidetoartificialintelligence.com/en/learn/tools-book-exist-two-years-later-replaced/

**Answer:** The core of the book, ChatGPT and the prompting method, is unchanged, but two of the services it describes have changed shape: ChatGPT plugins were shut down in April 2024 and replaced by GPTs, and Google's Bard became Gemini in February 2024. For the long list of smaller apps in the book's annex, the reliable approach is to check each one yourself with a short routine.

*A Beginner's Guide to ChatGPT* went to press in April 2023, at a moment when the field was changing weekly. The author noted in the book itself that the release was pushed back several times to include ChatGPT Plus, plugins and GPT-4. Two years on, it is fair to ask which of the tools it describes are still around.

The short answer: the parts that teach a method have aged well, and the parts that describe specific products are where the changes are. That is a useful lesson in itself.

## The status table

Here are the main tools the book discusses, with what can be confirmed as of April 2025.

| Tool in the book | What the book described | Status in April 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | The main subject: a chat assistant from OpenAI | Running, and the prompting method applies as written |
| ChatGPT plugins | A whole chapter: add-ons that connected ChatGPT to outside services, then in alpha | **Closed.** No new plugin chats from March 19, 2024; existing ones could not be continued after April 9, 2024. Replaced by **GPTs** |
| Google Bard | Google's chatbot, built on a lightweight version of LaMDA | **Renamed Gemini** on February 8, 2024, after the Gemini family of models |
| Annex B app list | About thirty smaller AI apps for video, voice, music, images, meetings and writing | Check one by one (routine below) |

### Plugins to GPTs

The plugins chapter is the clearest case of a feature being replaced rather than simply ending. OpenAI's help article on the wind-down says GPTs were built from what plugin users asked for, and that GPTs now do everything plugins did and more. The plugin store held a little over 1,000 plugins; OpenAI says the GPT Store holds hundreds of thousands of GPTs. If you relied on a plugin, OpenAI's advice is to search the GPT Store for its name. Old plugin conversations can still be read, but not continued.

### Bard to Gemini

Bard did not close; it was renamed. Google said the new name reflects that the chatbot gives direct access to its Gemini models. The free version moved to Gemini Pro 1.0, and a paid tier, Gemini Advanced, launched as part of the Google One AI Premium plan. If the book's Bard section sends you looking, the Gemini app is the same service under its current name.

## What has not changed

The method chapters need no replacement. Giving the model a role, adding your context, stating the task and the format, iterating, and checking every fact, number and contact detail before you use it: all of this works the same way with today's assistants. The book's warning that models can produce confident errors is as relevant as ever.

## A routine to check the rest of the list

The annex names apps such as D-ID, Runway, Synthesia, Otter, Krisp, Copy.ai, Looka and Cleanup.pictures. Small apps change faster than big platforms: they get bought, renamed, merged or closed. Use this routine for any tool you plan to rely on:

1. **Visit the official site directly**, not a review page. Is there a current pricing page and a recent product update?
2. **Check the name.** Search for the old name plus "renamed" or "acquired." A link that redirects to a different domain is a strong clue.
3. **Look for a dated announcement** from the company itself about closures or changes.
4. **Ask an assistant with web search, then verify.** A prompt like the one below saves time, but every claim needs a link you open yourself.

```prompt
You are a careful research assistant. For each tool below, tell me whether it is still operating today, whether it has been renamed, acquired or shut down, and give the official link that shows this. If you are not sure, say "unconfirmed" instead of guessing.

Format: a table with tool, status, date of change (if any), official source link.

Tools: D-ID, Runway, Synthesia, Otter, Krisp, Copy.ai, Looka, Cleanup.pictures
```

> **Try it:** Pick five tools from the book's annex that match your work. Run the prompt, open every link it gives, and mark each result as confirmed or unconfirmed. Keep the table; it becomes your own up-to-date directory.

## How do you judge whether a new tool will last?

No one can predict it reliably, but a few questions separate tools you can build on from tools you should only try. First, is it a feature or a product? Plugins were a feature of ChatGPT, and when OpenAI built a better version of the same idea into the platform, the old one was retired. Small apps that do one thing a large platform could add, such as summarizing a document, carry the same risk.

Second, who runs it and how does it make money? A tool with a clear paid plan and a company behind it has a reason to keep going. A free tool with no visible business model may change terms or close suddenly.

Third, can you leave? Before you put months of work into a tool, check that you can export your files, prompts and settings in a standard format. If a tool changes or disappears, your work should come with you.

Finally, keep your skills portable. The method in the book outlived several of the products it mentions because it was about how to ask, not which button to press. Learn tools, but invest most in the habits that transfer from one tool to the next.

## Sources

- A Beginner's Guide to ChatGPT: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZRRPXZW
- Winding down the ChatGPT plugins beta: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8988022-winding-down-the-chatgpt-plugins-beta
- Bard becomes Gemini: Try Ultra 1.0 and a new mobile app today: https://blog.google/products/gemini/bard-gemini-advanced-app/